Page 54 of The Right Woman

“Then we’ll eat him for dinner.”

She mocks a gasp and slaps my chest, then unlocks her apartment building door for us when we reach it. “He wouldn’t be very tasty. All he eats is smelly cat food.”

“True, but I’ll start slipping him some fish or something.”

Piper’s joyous chuckle bounces off the empty walls before she races ahead of me up the steps. But I take them two at a time and almost beat her, pulling her back into my body. Both of us almost trip over each other until we get to her door, and I pause.

“Piper, stop.”

She’s still smiling up at me, but my heart races. With a swift movement, I toss her behind my back and slowly approach the open doorway.

“Oh my god!” she whispers. “Someone’s been here!”

“Shh! They may still be here.” Placing her against the wall in the hallway, I hold up a finger to let her know to be quiet, then creep inside.

Freckles mewls, then runs out the open door, but Piper grabs him before he takes off. Everything is a mess inside. Her kitchen drawers have been overturned, the sofa torn apart, all her records thrown onto the floor. Potted plants have been smashed, the soil spread over her rugs.

No one is in the bathroom when I check, but it was mainly left untouched. That’s weird. When I get back into the main room, Piper’s happiness is gone, and her tears return as she strokes her cat dejectedly. I hustle to her and grab her in my arms. “It’s okay. Stuff can be replaced. We’ll get it taken care of.”

Freckles hugs me just as much as she does, and I hold the two of them in a tight squeeze. She lifts her chin and says, “Adon?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I move in with you?”

I snort a laugh. “Of course, Rosy.”

By the time the police arrive and take a report, it’s very late, and I have to call Rhodes to watch the kids until we can get there. Once they leave, she sets the cat down, then looks around with her hands on her hips.

“Anything missing?” I ask, though the police already tried to get an answer a few times from her.

“It’s hard to tell.” She wanders around, and then grabs an overnight bag, spreading it open on the sofa. As she stuffs it with clothes and toiletries, I try to sweep up some of the mess with her broom while Freckles keeps getting it out of the dustpan and marching through it, leaving paw prints behind.

“Oh! My laptop!”

I glance at where she’s pointing on the ground. There’s nothing there. “They took your laptop?”

“Yeah! I mean, it was an old clunker that barely worked, but yes. I only used it to watch streaming shows.”

Standing, I scratch my chin and contemplate the room. “Why would a thief break in for a shitty laptop?”

“Desperate for drug money?” she asks, gathering up Freckles’s things in a plastic bag.

“Maybe.” I’m not convinced, but I encourage her to let the detective know.

Despite them taking photographs of a boot mark in the dirt, there weren’t any fingerprints or other clues. The work was sloppy, but obviously directed at Piper. No one else in the building had a break-in, according to the landlord.

After loading up all I can into the back of my truck, we head to our house, where Rhodes and the kids are eating pizza and playing Monopoly. Well, screaming at each other about Monopoly.

“No, youcheated!” Odin screams.

I scratch my head, trying to get rid of the headache setting in. “I thought I said we’re never to play that game again.”

“Piper!” Avery jumps up from her chair and rushes at my girlfriend, who’s holding on to a squirming Freckles. “I’ve always wanted a cat! Who is this? Dad, can we keep him?”

“This is Freckles. How do you feel about cats, Odin?”

Odin runs at the cat like he just found a toy at the top of his wish list. “Can I hold him?”

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